Kiss Headlines Triple Metal Show In New Haven

Kiss returns to the New Haven Coliseum Oct. 14 in a triple metal bill that also includes Faster Pussycat and Trixter.

Other regional dates for the tour include the Worcester Centrum Oct. 8, Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., Oct. 11 and Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, N.Y., Oct. 13. No tickets yet.

In other metal news, Motorhead replaces Slaughter on the Ozzy Osbourne/Ugly Kid Joe show at Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass., Tuesday. It's the only local stop for the tour.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Evil Knievel, a bizarrely named offshoot band featuring members of L.A. Guns and the London Quireboys play an all-ages show at Toad's Place in New Haven Monday.

More all-ages shows next month at Toad's: Wasp plays Sept. 8; Special Beat on Sept. 15; the Breeders Sept. 28; and Big Head Todd Sept. 29.

John McEnroe never showed up at the Volvo Tennis Jam night at Toad's but he came by to see the Black Crowes later in the week and was up until nearly 4 a.m. with the band. The second show by the Crowes, by the way, was about twice as long as the early show, and included a 20-minute version of the Allman Brothers' "Dreams."

Soul Kitchen opens the Zoo show there Tuesday.

NRBQ plays the Sting in New Britain Oct. 2.

Tickets are on sale for a Sept. 26 appearance by Gordon Lightfoot at the Bushnell Memorial.

The Del Fuegos open the Joe Cocker show at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford Sept. 8. The Outlaws, whose equipment was stolen from the Oakdale parking lot after their appearance Aug. 6 opening for the Marshall Tucker Band, will return to the scene of the crime when they open for the Charlie Daniels Band there Wednesday.

Willie Nelson returns with a Nov. 14 show at the Stamford Center for the Arts.

John Marshall of Metal Church is the replacement guitarist for James Hetfield, who was burned by a flash pot explosion in the disastrous Aug. 8 show with Guns N' Roses in Montreal. Hetfield will still sing; Marshall just plays in the tour, which is still slated to return to Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts Sept. 11.

One major announcement is a decision by Ticketmaster to change its policy on refunds of service charges to canceled or postponed shows. The $3-to$7 service charge is usually not returned to customers, as anyone knows who ordered tickets for the Hartford Civic Center show by Ozzy Osbourne, which was ultimately canceled.

Ticketmaster made exceptions in the case of Guns N' Roses cancellations and for the cancellation of the East Coast tour by the Grateful Dead, in part because the audiences were so huge. But officials said that for all concerts that go on sale after Monday, service charges will be included in refunds of ticket prices.

The Second Zydeco Dance and Cajun Food Party Saurday at Elks Hall in Hamden features Al Rapone and his Zydeco Express Men as well as free dance lessons and homecooked Cajun food. It's brought by the people who bring you the 13th Cajun/bluegrass Festival the following weekend in Escoheag, R.I.

Roomful of Blues plays on the Riverfront Lawn in Mystic Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. in a show sponsored by the Mystic Art Association Gallery. Rain date is Sept. 6.

An all-ages metal matinee at the El 'n' Gee Club in New London Sunday features Necrofeast, Excoriate, Brain Police, Psychosis and Infestation.

A weekend of New Orleans-style boat rides on the Connecticut River with a Cajun buffet and live music is set for Sept. 18-20, with performances by the Working Band Sept. 18, the Zydeco Zombies Sept. 19 and the Magneatos Sept. 20. It's being catered by Different Tastes, of Hartford, in memory of Louisiana Lenny. For more information, call 232-5332.

LAKE COMPOUNCE OPENS Lake Compounce Festival Park in Bristol will reopen next weekend, for only a weekend, simply to keep the tradition of the place going. "Compounce 147" the event is being called, to mark the park's 147th consecutive season, short as it is, for an amusement park believed to be the longest continuously run operation in the nation.

The main concert stage of the park will be dark, but there will be some music on hand. The only rock bands so far will be local acts Kaos and Banditos performing Sept. 4. The rest of the acts will be more akin to the older traditions of the park, as recalled by onetime owner Stretch Norton, whose ancestors opened the park before the Civil War. Slim Coxx and the Cowboy Caravan perform on the lakeside stage Sept. 6 and 7, and there's big band music planned for the evening of Sept. 5.

At least the prices are way down. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children 48 inches and under; proceeds go to the United Way. Don't try to bring your Guns N' Roses tickets from last season for refunds.

LIFESAVER MEETS DIAMOND As a waitress, Rosemary Taylor waited on a lot of famous people at Hartford's Parkview Hilton a decade ago and has a lot of nice autographs to show for it, from people like Bob Seger and Bryan Adams.